Class of 2013: Offensive Line

Benjamin Worgull

01/10/2013

With less than a month until national signing day, BadgerNation breaks down the 2013 recruiting class position by position as it stands today. In this edition, we break down the three offensive linemen committed to Wisconsin.

To say Biegel is completely different from a football standpoint than older brother Vince Biegel is accurate. Vince is a 6-3, 225-pound outside linebacker. Hayden was a 6-6, 210-pound offensive tackle, but both drew interest from Wisconsin during their junior year.

Biegel knew schools would be interested if he could bulk up his frame, which is what he did by putting on over 30 pounds since in the fourth months following the season by averaging four protein shakes a day. The results were full scholarship offers from North Dakota and Illinois followed by Wisconsin offering a grayshirt opportunity in mid March.

"I kind of like the grayshirt opportunity," Biegel told us. "It allows me to put some more weight on. I am definitely underweight and grayshirting would get me the opportunity to gain weight, which is what I really need to do."

Since offering him a grayshirt, Biegel exploded on the recruiting front and has picked up offers from Iowa, Iowa State and Michigan State. The grayshirt was never a factor for Biegel, who said he would have no problem enrolling in January 2014 to allowing him an extra semester to build his body without losing a year of eligibility.

After camping with Wisconsin in June, Biegel decided that he couldn't see himself playing anywhere else.

Jack Keeler

Holding three early offers from Toledo, West Virginia and Western Michigan, Keeler had a good idea of what to expect in the recruiting process with former teammate, Wisconsin commit and friend Dan Voltz having gone through it. Knowing that Voltz fell in love with the school, Keeler took an unofficial visit to the Badgers during the school's junior day.

"Dan has been a big brother during this whole process and he's just looking out for my best interest," Keeler told Badger Nation at the time. "He told me that he found a home at Wisconsin, and he wants me to find that, too. He answers all my questions about recruiting and he's been a big influence … Wisconsin showed they had a lot to offer. It all looked very nice and they have a home-town aspect with the people being very friendly. They offer a lot of academic help and they emphasize tutoring there. For how much help you can get, it's really hard to fail there."

Keeler kept that in the back of his mind on unofficial visits to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, South Florida and Vanderbilt. When Wisconsin finally offered him at its spring game, Keeler quickly jumped on the opportunity.

"There is really no better school for linemen," Keller told us exclusively. "It's one of the best academic schools in the country. I love their tradition."

Miller's story

Wisconsin's summer camp is always good for having a few players stand out from the rest of the crowd to the point where it is a no brainer to offer them a scholarship. Miller is one of those players. With an older brother, Jack Miller, playing at Michigan, Miller grew into one of the top linemen of Ohio. Still an offer from Michigan didn't come with the Wolverines gobbling up offensive linemen early in the process.

Knowing that he had to get the camp route to get noticed and improve his pedigree, Miller went to Wisconsin and reportedly impressed the Badgers with his work and technique. Miller already knew what UW was about since he took an unofficial visit to the Badgers-Penn State game the year before, and he knew the Badgers were going after a lot of top-ranked players on the offensive line.

"I thought about it the last couple days and it felt really right to me," Miller told us exclusively. "The school and the program and Madison and the whole thing, I don't think anyone really has a negative thing to say about it. It just felt like it was the right place to me."

Biegel's Scouting Report: Against players he has the size advantage on (which is quite a few at 6-6), Biegel simply throws guys into the ground. When he goes against players that match or surpass his skill set, however, Biegel has trouble, especially going against some talented players at UW's high school summer camp. Biegel will build up his body over the next two years to make an impact. His footwork is solid, his aggressiveness off the line is there and his intelligence can be seen. For a taller guy, he bends pretty well and plays with good pad level. He's a good find for Wisconsin.

Keeler's Scouting Report: Keeler is a very good fit for Wisconsin and can become a very good interior player. Pretty fast for his size and position, Keeler has good, quick hands and feet and benefited from getting added experience from competing against top players in the O-D bowl. Like many offensive linemen, it will take him a couple years to develop, but he comes from a good program and continues to add size and strength to his frame.

Miller's Scouting Report:Miller grew his pedigree by being able to play both offense and defense, but he is projected to be either a guard or a center. Offensive line runs in the family's blood, and Miller has a lot of the raw skills needed to be productive at that position: skill set, strength, awareness and mobility. In Wisconsin's system, guards and centers have to be able to move on pull blocks and Miller has that ability. He's 6-5 and over 260 pounds. If he gets around 300-310, he'll be a physical threat in the open field.

How the position could change: Keeler is pretty solid to Wisconsin, but he still is contemplating an official visit out to Oregon.

"I've talked with Wisconsin's coaches and they said it's okay for me to look around, make sure that Wisconsin is the best place for me," said Keeler. "I don't want to be like 'what if.' I just want to be happy wherever I go."

With the news that Frederick was heading to the NFL, opening up another scholarship, it will be interesting to see if Andersen and the staff eye another offensive lineman. Wisconsin did make the top five for offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith (6-7, 320 pounds) along with Virginia, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma and Michigan. Thomas Hammock continues to recruit Jones-Smith, and that will likely pick up with an open scholarship at the position.

Jack Keeler Junior Highlights

For more information on the 2013 Wisconsin verbal commits, sign up for a three-month or year subscription with Badgernation.com in time to get the 2013 Wisconsin Recruiting Yearbook that includes breakdowns, features and interviews of the entire class

\r\n\r\nFor more information on the 2013 Wisconsin verbal commits, sign up for a three-month or year subscription with Badgernation.com in time to get the 2013 Wisconsin Recruiting Yearbook that includes breakdowns, features and interviews of the entire class

To say Biegel is completely different from a football standpoint than older brother Vince Biegel is accurate. Vince is a 6-3, 225-pound outside linebacker. Hayden was a 6-6, 210-pound offensive tackle, but both drew interest from Wisconsin during their junior year.

Biegel knew schools would be interested if he could bulk up his frame, which is what he did by putting on over 30 pounds since in the fourth months following the season by averaging four protein shakes a day. The results were full scholarship offers from North Dakota and Illinois followed by Wisconsin offering a grayshirt opportunity in mid March.

\"I kind of like the grayshirt opportunity,\" Biegel told us. \"It allows me to put some more weight on. I am definitely underweight and grayshirting would get me the opportunity to gain weight, which is what I really need to do.\"

Since offering him a grayshirt, Biegel exploded on the recruiting front and has picked up offers from Iowa, Iowa State and Michigan State. The grayshirt was never a factor for Biegel, who said he would have no problem enrolling in January 2014 to allowing him an extra semester to build his body without losing a year of eligibility.

After camping with Wisconsin in June, Biegel decided that he couldn't see himself playing anywhere else.

Holding three early offers from Toledo, West Virginia and Western Michigan, Keeler had a good idea of what to expect in the recruiting process with former teammate, Wisconsin commit and friend Dan Voltz having gone through it. Knowing that Voltz fell in love with the school, Keeler took an unofficial visit to the Badgers during the school's junior day.

\"Dan has been a big brother during this whole process and he's just looking out for my best interest,\" Keeler told Badger Nation at the time. \"He told me that he found a home at Wisconsin, and he wants me to find that, too. He answers all my questions about recruiting and he's been a big influence … Wisconsin showed they had a lot to offer. It all looked very nice and they have a home-town aspect with the people being very friendly. They offer a lot of academic help and they emphasize tutoring there. For how much help you can get, it's really hard to fail there.\"

Keeler kept that in the back of his mind on unofficial visits to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, South Florida and Vanderbilt. When Wisconsin finally offered him at its spring game, Keeler quickly jumped on the opportunity.

\"There is really no better school for linemen,\" Keller told us exclusively. \"It's one of the best academic schools in the country. I love their tradition.\"

Wisconsin's summer camp is always good for having a few players stand out from the rest of the crowd to the point where it is a no brainer to offer them a scholarship. Miller is one of those players. With an older brother, Jack Miller, playing at Michigan, Miller grew into one of the top linemen of Ohio. Still an offer from Michigan didn't come with the Wolverines gobbling up offensive linemen early in the process.

Knowing that he had to get the camp route to get noticed and improve his pedigree, Miller went to Wisconsin and reportedly impressed the Badgers with his work and technique. Miller already knew what UW was about since he took an unofficial visit to the Badgers-Penn State game the year before, and he knew the Badgers were going after a lot of top-ranked players on the offensive line.

\"I thought about it the last couple days and it felt really right to me,\" Miller told us exclusively. \"The school and the program and Madison and the whole thing, I don't think anyone really has a negative thing to say about it. It just felt like it was the right place to me.\"

Against players he has the size advantage on (which is quite a few at 6-6), Biegel simply throws guys into the ground. When he goes against players that match or surpass his skill set, however, Biegel has trouble, especially going against some talented players at UW's high school summer camp. Biegel will build up his body over the next two years to make an impact. His footwork is solid, his aggressiveness off the line is there and his intelligence can be seen. For a taller guy, he bends pretty well and plays with good pad level. He's a good find for Wisconsin.

Keeler is a very good fit for Wisconsin and can become a very good interior player. Pretty fast for his size and position, Keeler has good, quick hands and feet and benefited from getting added experience from competing against top players in the O-D bowl. Like many offensive linemen, it will take him a couple years to develop, but he comes from a good program and continues to add size and strength to his frame.

Miller grew his pedigree by being able to play both offense and defense, but he is projected to be either a guard or a center. Offensive line runs in the family's blood, and Miller has a lot of the raw skills needed to be productive at that position: skill set, strength, awareness and mobility. In Wisconsin's system, guards and centers have to be able to move on pull blocks and Miller has that ability. He's 6-5 and over 260 pounds. If he gets around 300-310, he'll be a physical threat in the open field.

Keeler is pretty solid to Wisconsin, but he still is contemplating an official visit out to Oregon.

\"I've talked with Wisconsin's coaches and they said it's okay for me to look around, make sure that Wisconsin is the best place for me,\" said Keeler. \"I don't want to be like 'what if.' I just want to be happy wherever I go.\"

With the news that Frederick was heading to the NFL, opening up another scholarship, it will be interesting to see if Andersen and the staff eye another offensive lineman. Wisconsin did make the top five for offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith (6-7, 320 pounds) along with Virginia, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma and Michigan. Thomas Hammock continues to recruit Jones-Smith, and that will likely pick up with an open scholarship at the position.